PATTERSONS 'ROUND THE WORLD

At the park

2012-02-09T13:24:00.003+08:00

?? No idea! Maybe he's showing Rhys how the big boys do it!

Bee Swarm at Scenic Drive

2012-02-08T18:58:00.003+08:00

It sure was interesting to watch how these bees swarmed together in Mum and Dad's tree! The swarm was about the size of a large rugby ball. The beekeeper who came reckoned they were only resting and would probably move off eventually, but we got him to take them away anyway.

He basically just shook the swarm into the box hoping to get the queen in there and then the other bees will follow her

Close-up of the bees "fanning" at the opening

Random NZ photos

2012-02-08T18:47:00.002+08:00

Rhys loved Nanna and Granddad's little ambulance...he kept filling it up with flowers, leaves, snails....etc

We had one really cold night and we actually lit the fire! It was so nice! Here Eldon, Rhys and Granddad are enjoying sitting in front on it.

The lovely fire we had!

Rhys learning how fun it is to ride down the hill!

More filling going on...

Nana's little helper

2012-01-26T17:14:00.003+08:00

Nana teaching Rhys how to pop out broad beans

Love the look of concentration on his face

Finished product

Rhys pretending to eat them like a dog...yep that's my son!

Products of a new camera

2012-01-26T16:46:00.005+08:00

I have enjoyed our new camera so much! Luckily there are plentiful flowers in Mum and Dad's yard to practice on! Here are a few:

A Pohutakawa tree in bloom with the city in the background

Auckland city skyline...in blue

Mum's canna

More Pohutakawa

Love this one....Agapanthus bud just opening

again...different bud

Calla lily with fresh rain drops

One of Denise's candles

can't remember what these are...just love how the yellow stands out

The newest member....

2012-01-24T19:07:00.005+08:00

We were thrilled to meet our little niece, Victoria Beatrice, who was born to Darryn and Denise in October.

Uncle Eldon having a cuddle

Rhys LOVED his cousin Tori....here he is trying to steal a kiss!

Did you miss me??

2012-01-23T13:24:00.003+08:00

Hi friends and family,

Well it's been almost 3 months since I did a posting on here and I've almost forgotten how! We returned home on Thursday last week from a wonderful holiday in NZ where we had Christmas, convention, and some really great catch-ups with our friends and family. Plus, we got to know our little niece, Tori, who is an absolute doll! We also acquired a camera while we were away so.....I have around 800 pictures to sort through! But that means I have plenty of blog material! So, stay tuned!

What we did today....

2011-11-01T18:24:00.001+08:00

A picture is worth a thousand words...
This is Rhys's friend Cameron who helped us decorate gingerbread men today!

New Meeting picture

2011-11-01T18:17:00.002+08:00

Well, we are getting sparse around here...this picture was taken on Wendy and Tyron's last Sunday and we are losing another family at the end of this month! So...such is life. We will miss them!

Major yard work

2011-08-15T20:49:00.002+08:00

While Mum was here I dragged her out into the yard to help me clean up our "gardens". I wish I had taken a before picture. The grass was about 3 feet tall and let me tell you, it was hard work getting it out! It took us two days and as you can tell by the huge pile, we are still putting a little bit in the rubbish bin each week. It's almost gone...I'll have to take another picture because I have planted some flowers and made a little picnic area under the tree. Thanks for all your help, Mum!!!

This is Rhys getting caught playing with the broken lightbulb.....
...and this is Rhys yelling at Mommy because he "WANTS IT!!!" Love the face!

Trains, trains, and more trains

2011-08-15T20:43:00.002+08:00

Did I mention Rhys got trains for his birthday? Well...here is the proof! When Mum was here we must have set the train tracks up everyday in a different configuration. As you can tell by the first picture, the adults had as much or more fun than Rhys!

Rhys's Second 3rd Birthday...

2011-08-15T20:37:00.002+08:00

We had our meeting over the Sunday after Rhys's birthday and I made another cake (this one was much less time consuming!!) and found a cute No. 3 sparkler for the candle. Rhys wasn't so sure about the sparkler...he was kind of afraid of it!

Sunday pictures

2011-08-15T20:33:00.002+08:00

These pictures are pretty self-explanatory....first we tried to get all three of us, which Rhys wasn't very impressed about...so we settled for just Eldon and I :)

Catching up!!!

2011-08-15T20:09:00.003+08:00

Well I have a fair bit of catching up to do! Life has been going along quite busily for a while now. I can't believe it's August already! Convention is just around the corner for us. Here are some random pictures of Rhys (mostly) from the past few weeks.

Reading with Rhys before the meeting

Rhys chasing bubbles

Reading Hairy McClary to Rhys, Kyana, and Lila...love my face in this one...not sure which part of the story that was...
Daddy blowing big bubbles for Rhys

Rhys's new hat...Paddington Bear anyone?

I love this one! Rhys really wanted to hold my friend's baby!

Rhys helping Daddy "fix" the car

Rhys's 3rd Birthday!!!

2011-07-25T14:26:00.003+08:00

Rhys's train cake

Making animal faces out of paper plates

getting ready to eat cake!

Rhys having some cake

Animal faces hanging in a row!

Eldon blowing bubbles for the kids

the chief clapper

Just one example of the openning-presents faces

Rhys got lots of train stuff...and we adults have been enjoying playing with it when he's in bed!

Time with Nana P

2011-07-25T14:13:00.003+08:00

We are having a great time with Mum P here! It was very nice that she could come over and share Rhys's and her own birthday with us!

Mum with a candle in her vanilla slice!

Taking advantage of the cool benches in the restaurant
Best photo we could get of Rhys and Nana together on her birthday

At the big day out, which we accidentally went to (didn't even know it was on!)

Having lunch in the park

Ni-nite in the laundry basket

Love swinging!!

With Nana here we have another pusher!

4 weeks to go...will we make it?

2011-06-21T22:05:00.004+08:00

4 weeks until Rhys's 3rd birthday....wow time flies! I was checking up on my blog...hoping someone had posted for me....and I saw my ticker about Rhys's birthday. Still have no idea what we are going to do for his birthday this year cake-wise. It just so happens that I have hidden Rhys's birthday presents in my closet which also just so happens to be his current "hiding" place (Rhys-speak for "I'm going to fill my pants now")...guess I should rethink that. Anyway, today he brought me a truck we got him and wanted me to open it. I told him No, that it was for his birthday and he would have to wait. (Yeah, like he understood that) So tonight at dinner, he told me he wanted birthday...smart kid. Hopefully by tomorrow he'll have forgotten again. Need to find a better hiding place for the presents. At least until he works out that the toilet is a much better area to stink out!

Speaking of forgetting, or rather, not forgetting, I told Rhys last time we were down watching the Qantas plane take off that Nana is going to come on the big plane. Well, that wasn't very smart because now every time we hear or see the Qantas plane (every day) he asks me about Nana coming. It's really quite cute. We are really looking forward to Nana coming to spend some time with us...wish GrandDad was coming too.

Sorry about the lack of photos...here is one photo of us from special meeting last month. Rhys was none too pleased to have to sit still for a photo. This was after a day of no napping also. Hope everyone is having a good week!

Welcome back to our world.....

2011-06-06T08:48:00.002+08:00

Days turn into weeks and weeks into months....and its about time I updated this blog!!!! So much has happened since I blogged last that I can't even remember it all. Rhys and I have been away to Townsville for a weekend to see Tim, Danielle and Eva. We've had our special meetings. And just to make things interesting, our toilet is blocked again. (It was this time last year that our toilet blocked up just before the workers came and the plumbers ended up taking a sledgehammer to our toilet) We are getting closer to Rhys's birthday and Eldon's Mum coming out, which we are looking forward to. Shauna's had her baby, Emma Jane, and Arlen's getting married! Anyway, I'm sure all of you knew all those things already but I thought I'd better make sure! :) I'll try to steal some pictures of Emma to put up on my blog if I can. And I'm sure I'll be provided with pictures from Arlen and Heather's wedding from Mom and Dad. Wish we could be there!
It's hard to believe that Rhys is almost 3....he really is a wonderful little boy....not biased or anything! :) He is right into playing meetings now, especially the giving thanks for the bread and wine. We've been trying to capture it on video with no luck so far. Toilet training is not going well as every time we've managed to get him to sit on the toilet he thinks it's a great time to play meetings, and the standing up and sitting down all the time isn't conducive to actually producing wee-wees.
Anyway....oh yeah I also turned 30! Eldon got me an hour massage which I haven't managed to use yet. Things are going just fine here...and I hope all is going well with all of you.

In Loving Memory

2011-03-16T19:20:00.002+08:00

Our good friend from Kununurra, Louise, passed away this afternoon. She has been battling a brain tumor for 4 years or so and has gone down hill quickly over the past few months. Some of you have met her and know what a kind, compassionate person she was. She was a good friend to me over the years we lived in Kununurra. She retained a wonderful spirit and more wisdom and grace than I could ever hope to have even in the face of her physical suffering. Our thoughts go out to Donny and James, who no doubt will be missing her enormously.

Here's a picture of the four of us: the fishermen and the long-suffering wives!

We will miss you, Louise!

New Meeting Toy

2011-03-16T14:28:00.004+08:00

Just wanted to share this new meeting toy for Rhys! My friend Danielle is a great seamstress and she got this idea from someone at convention. It's basically a bean bag with toys inside and a vinyl window. Going to try it out for the first time tonight!

And of course I couldn't go without putting up a picture of Rhys! He is outside getting absolutely soaked in a rainstorm!

Meeting Photos February 2011

2011-02-12T10:44:00.004+08:00

We had a meeting photo taken a couple weekends ago so I thought I'd share it with you. One of our friends is leaving town so another friend made the collage at the bottom and framed it for them. I love the way it turned out!

Feeling restless...

2011-01-09T16:00:00.001+08:00

Well, I rearranged the house last night (Eldon says I am nesting, but I am not!) so I guess it's time to rearrange the blog too!

Best Friends!

2011-01-09T15:48:00.002+08:00

Just hangin' out in Rhys's tent with our snack cups!

Full of hot air?

2010-12-30T11:37:00.002+08:00

Christmas Day

2010-12-30T11:21:00.002+08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone...hope your day was great! Our present opening took forever, not because of the many gifts, but because we had to prod Rhys along the whole time to actually rip the paper open to see what was inside! He did enjoy his gifts though.

Getting into his stocking
His main present takes up his whole room and its not even set up completely!

Toy Library Gingerbread House

2010-12-30T10:53:00.002+08:00

This year I made a gingerbread house for the Toy Library Christmas Party. It was a great hit with the kids and adults and it was quite yummy too!

Close-up of the little people and pile of books at the front

Really bad picture of me at the library

Bad picture again (my camera)....the ladies who run the Toy Library

Aussie Jingle Bells!

2010-12-12T21:07:00.000+08:00

To get you in the mood....

I'm a big boy now...but I still require my dummy!

2010-12-12T20:53:00.002+08:00

Well, we've done it...there's no going back now! Rhys thinks his new bed is pretty cool and so far he's done really good. Tonight is only night #2 so I may be changing my mind on that. He did get up and play when we put him down for a nap today but one stern talking-to was all he needed. Anyway, I'm pretty excited about the change...now we only need to potty train and take away his dummy....now you know why I picked the easy one!

"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree..."

2010-12-12T20:34:00.004+08:00

I braved the shops this Saturday and got some Christmas shopping done...thank goodness Eldon stayed home with Rhys! I know Mount Isa isn't a very big "city" but all we have is Kmart...so just imagine 25,000 people trying to buy all their presents etc at one shop...two weeks before Christmas. Anyway I was successful at least...I got the last christmas tree available...the checkout lady had to unplug the display one for me! (the 50 people behind me in line were none too impressed!) I really wanted a tree this year to make it feel like christmas. It doesn't hold a bar to a REAL tree but I can settle for this. ;) It has fiber optic lights on it so we just decorated it with red balls, silver bells, and candy canes. I thought Rhys would get a kick out of it, and he did...he even let me take pictures of him putting things up which lulled me into complacency. The fun game now is to take off all the ornaments and stick them inside the tubes of wrapping paper where they fit perfectly! I must have had a severe mental blockage when I thought if Rhys didn't see me getting the candy canes out of the cupboard he wouldn't know you could eat them....what was I thinking? The first thing he did was stick one in his mouth. Then he let me hang them all up and proceeded to take off all the bottom ones one by one and try to eat them! So...our poor christmas tree doesn't look nearly as good as the pictures lead you to believe! There are a couple candy canes left at the top where he can't reach and every night after he's in bed I put all the ornaments back on for tomorrow's game!

This is our christmas dog, Mr. Jingle Bells. Rhys loves him! Rhys has a little conversation with him: "Push the button?" "Ok, push the button." (jingle bells, batman smells...) "Push the button?" "Ok, push the button." This goes on 10 or 11 times before he moves on to something else!

Mango Madness!

2010-12-06T15:05:00.002+08:00

Oh, if we could only send mangos to all our family for Christmas! :) We've had a bounty this year and still have some coming from friends and neighbours. Love mangos!!!!

Eldon and Rhys picking mangos

This is only 1/3 of the original amount we had....these are the ones too green to process
Preserving mangos by the dozens

The finished product!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-06T14:43:00.002+08:00

Well I'm only a couple weeks out of date here! We've been to convention, which was wonderful, had a mini holiday, and now we are anticipating Christmas with our friends. I am missing our family this time of year! But we had a nice Thanksgiving (a little early) with some of our great friends here in Mount Isa!

Our feast - Turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and greens, and of course, rolls!
Dessert was equally fantastic....pear toffee cheesecake from Wendy

...pumpkin pie (half with topping and half without) courtesy of me...

...and apple crumble just to top it off!

We had a wonderful evening playing games and stuffing ourselves and we didn't even have to go home that night...so nice!

Gingerbread Competition

2010-11-08T20:49:00.005+08:00

I had my first Christmas show on Friday night at my friend's house and we had a gingerbread decorating competition! What fun! We made such a mess but we had a blast!

Here I am with my product display

Closer up
Close up of my display gingerbread house

Tyron and Lachlan got roped into doing the whisk game...you have to beat 3 egg whites to stiff peaks and then hold it upside-down over your head...first one done wins...what fun!

This is how the kiddos entertained themselves that night...Eva the porcupine

don't know if it was Rhys or Eldon who was clipping them to her back...

The boys hard at work

Lachlan adding the santa to the chimney

And the finished products...#1

#3..the boys' effort...notice the santa head first in the chimney...

...and the savage in the yard with his fire stick and bonfire behind him...
All three houses lined up together....no one could decide a winner, so we ended up sharing the prize, which was a plate of cookies! (like we needed any more sugar!)

The fate of these awesome houses....#1 is going to be raffled off at the respite center where one of our friends works...#2 is being saved for family coming for the holidays and #3...well...it's already more than half gone! Yum!

Busy Weekend

2010-11-03T21:40:00.004+08:00

Well, what a weekend we had! It's almost Thursday and I'm still getting over it! :) Our local fishing competition was on this weekend so the boys were busy with that. So, of course, that's our cue to have a girls night! We made a scrumptious asian meal, put the kids to bed, and had a foot spa! It was a great start to the weekend. Saturday Danielle had a stall at the Arts and Crafts Fair selling her hand made breastfeeding covers, fabric boxes, burp rags, handbags, etc....very talented!! Wendy and I watched the kids for the first half of the day and then we all met up again at the lake in the evening for dinner and fireworks. A storm had come up overnight and made the boys' slumber party in the boat rather rocky...so they were ready for a good nights sleep! :) The boys didn't win anything...but they had a lot of fun doing it!

Danielle and the kids playing on the futon

Crispy Orange Beef...yummy!
Our meal...Shallot Chicken, Crispy Orange Beef, Fried Rice and Prawn crackers! And chocolate cheesecake for dessert! Truly spoiled!

Danielle at her stall

All of us at the lake ready for fireworks

Pictures from Pink Party Night

2010-10-18T09:19:00.003+08:00

I had a "pink party" last Friday for Breast Cancer Awareness Month for my business, The Chefs Toolbox. It was a great night...lots of pink food and prizes too!

Rhys wearing my feather boa...unfortunately I forgot to get a picture of myself!

The pretty arrangement I made from several different bouquets to get all the pink!
food table

Chicken and Strawberry Salad

Beetroot and goats cheese pizza

Beetroot soup

Wendy and her pink outfit!

Nesta, Desley and Lorraine

My product display table

Little update...

2010-10-13T08:28:00.003+08:00

Just the smallest of updates...we are doing well. Summer is fast approaching, although we have had an odd few days of cool weather and rain which is just fine with me. Rhys is talking like a champ although everything is No right now which can be quite annoying.
His favorite sayings: "Oh No Bro!" some of our friends taught him that one
"Amazing" out of the Gruffalo
"I'ceam? Oh, No, Ok" which is his lines and my lines all in one. :) He often has a whole conversation with himself saying both sides.
He loves to sing the ABCs and he's getting clearer all the time. Also loves The Wheels on the Bus, and you can't get away without doing allllll the verses!

Our camera is not working too well so sorry these pictures aren't too good of quality. Best I could do! :) Rhys sure enjoys his watermelon!

"Helping with the washing"

Potty Training 101

2010-09-13T07:02:00.003+08:00

Please excuse the nudity....we are potty training in our household. Rhys did 2 pees the other day...which apparently were a mixture of good luck and sitting long enough on the potty as he hasn't repeated that yet. Mom and Dad R sent him a new toy, Fridge Phonics, which it is the current favorite closely followed by the caterpillar which sings 26 different songs. He is becoming quite the singer....hopefully I'll be able to show you if my video uploads!
Sorry this photo has lines in it...our camera is playing up. Reading to him so that he'll stay sitting down!

Singing the ABCs!

Car trouble...again....

2010-08-24T13:21:00.004+08:00

No pictures sorry, I mean, who wants to see pictures of our old car anyway... :) Last night after work I climbed into my car (with a co-worker, mind you, who was hitching a ride home), started the ignition, and then there was a popping sound under the hood and then it was dead. So I'm sure if you're a mechanic you're probably cringing at my spectacular description...my husband was when I called him at 10:45pm to try and "explain" what I heard. "What kind of a pop was it, like a small explosion or thud or....and was it under the car or in the engine....and was it metalic or plastic sounding..." I mean, who knows??? I didn't really want to turn the car on again to find out. Anyway, after I decided that the car wasn't going to blow up on me, I found the courage to open the hood. What we eventually found after much humming and hawing was that the battery had completely fried itself and there was a build up of hydrogen in the battery which was ignited when I turned the car on, blowing one of the caps off the battery which hit the hood causing the popping sound. So....our car spent the night in the parking lot and a large part of me was hoping someone would steal it! :) (Guess they wouldn't get very far...) This morning one of Eldon's work mates came around to get the keys and put a new battery in it for me. Thank you!

Oh, but the story isn't over yet! Happy to have a car, I decided to go see my friend Danielle. I jump in the car and realise that Eldon's mate has put the hand brake on...which normally wouldn't be a problem except in our lovely car...the hand brake sticks on! So I try to release it a few times and it seems to be working, but when I go to reverse out, it's very sluggish which tells me the brake is still on. So, I call Eldon again. (Did I forget to mention that he is away for two nights?...just my luck) He tells me how to check to see if it's still on blah blah blah....I'm still fairly ignorant when it comes to mechanical things. So...I think it's fixed so I start down the road to Danielle's...only to feel it being sluggish again. I can't do the speed limit and I'm starting to smell burning brakes...yikes! So I creep the rest of the way to Danielle's and when I get out, the tires are smoking! Another call to Eldon who then calls his mate who then comes round the fix it again! Luckily the brakes release for him and I'm free to drive it again. Danielle and I have a cuppa and discuss how we are going to drive the car into the lake or use it for a bonfire...we haven't decided yet...guess we'll have to have another cuppa.

Fun at the Park...etc....

2010-08-17T11:22:00.004+08:00

The weather has been wonderful here...lovely and sunny but not too warm...so we have had a few outings to the park by Lake Moondarra. Rhys and Eva love playing together as you can see by their big smiles!

A kookaburra who came to visit....wish I could have got a clearer shot!

Making as much noise as possible is the name of the game...
...and always egging each other on!

The peacocks and hens are quite used to being fed...one stole the lunch right out of Rhys's hand!

Beautiful birds, though...

Rhys's 2nd Birthday Party!

2010-08-04T08:24:00.002+08:00

Well, it happened almost two weeks ago...time I go the pictures up! I made Rhys a farmyard cake...which was supposed to have a barn as well but things didn't go to plan with that one. He was very surprised when he realized we were singing to him!

Daddy giving Rhys a horsey ride
Thomas pop-up tent which he loves!
Eva wanted to help Rhys...and he needed it too...didn't have a clue what to do
Mommy finally had to coax him into opening his presents

Rhys and friends....

2010-07-21T20:30:00.003+08:00

Well, I am officially behind and need to get my act together! Rhys has turned 2 (on Monday) and I haven't posted a single thing for ages! We are having his party on the weekend so pictures will come then. We've been having beautiful winter weather here...clear, blue, sunny skies and cool. I wouldn't mind it if it was a few degrees warmer as I have a sum total of three long-sleeved shirts, but I'll survive. Won't be long and I'll be wishing it was cooler...

A couple weekends ago we had the Morrisons over for lunch and Rhys sure enjoyed himself when the boys got out their scooters. They have four boys, youngest is 4, so Rhys loves following them around. And they are all really good about playing with him. They even let him use a scooter...a bit big for him, but he had fun!

Rhys with Harry, Zach and Darcy
Harry is 4 and is "definitely bigger than Rhys"....his brother give him heaps because he's the youngest.

Sam, the oldest, trying to teach Rhys how to ride the scooter

Zach giving Rhys a ride

Rhys's other special playmate, Eva! They sure are enjoying each other now. I think Rhys was teaching her how to bang on the mirror....such a good influence he is...

Rhys is so grown up...sitting on his little couch eating a whole apple, seeds, stem and all...but every time I asked him to look at me, he leaped up and ran for it....

one of the better ones...

On the slide I got from the toy library for his birthday. He gets a zap every time he goes down, so now he's decided that sending his toy trucks down is much more fun!

Stay tuned for two-year-old birthday pics!

Ireland #6: Wedding Part 2

2010-07-01T15:19:00.005+08:00

Oh sweet! I love this one! It's only one step from holding the flowers to holding the purse, Daz!

All the pretty girls...doing the can-can??

All the boys in a scrum...

Daz and Justin showing a bit of New Zealand culture

Mike and Roz in the carriage...see I'm the only one who thinks its romantic!

The happy couple ready to eat...dinner

The very elegant cake

Denise and her sister and matron of honour, Olwyn

Listening to speeches

Eldon...emcee-ing

Mike after too much sherbet

Ireland #5: Wedding Part 1

2010-07-01T14:19:00.005+08:00

Now the photos you've all been patiently waiting for!
The beautiful venue

The ultimate romantic arrival *sigh*

harpist

Darryn (Groom)

Eldon (Best Man)

Denise and her Dad walking up the aisle

Making it official!

Sweet flower girls!

Non-irish visitors

Irish wedding-goers

Kerr Family

Darryn and Denise with Steven and Beatrice Kerr

Denise with Dad and brothers Phillip and Steve

Patterson Family

Darryn and Denise with Murray and Sharon Patterson

Darryn with Roz and Eldon

to be continued......

Ireland #4: Giants Causeway

2010-07-01T13:24:00.004+08:00

For those of you who do not know the legend behind this historical landmark...
Legend has it that the Irish warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill (Finn McCool) built the causeway to walk to Scotland to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Fionn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Fionn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Fionn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Fionn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Fionn.

Ireland #3: Glenarm and Ballintoy Harbour

2010-06-27T18:48:00.004+08:00

Small town of Glenarm

As you can see....Ballintoy Harbour

Must have been quite a shot!

Ireland #2: Carrickfergus Castle

2010-06-27T18:01:00.004+08:00

Before we get to the main pictures, I have to share a little giggle with you about this: Eldon stayed in a really nice house while on this part of the trip, but he forgot to take a picture of it for me. Instead, he was so enthralled with the bathroom, he brought home several pictures of that! Here is my favorite...faucet going into the bathtub. :) (ok, pick on Eldon hour is over)

Carrickfergus Castle, as you can see....
Mike and Eldon

Harbor at Carrickfergus

Car ferry on it's way east

Ireland #1: Arrival and Belfast

2010-06-27T15:06:00.006+08:00

Part of an old fort and stables out of Kilkenny

Thatched-roof houseThe River Lagan, Belfast
Shipyards where the Titanic was built

Stormont, Northern Ireland Parliament House

Statue of Lord Edward Carson in front of Stormont

Albert Memorial Clock in Belfast city which is on a slight lean, called Belfast's Leaning Tower of Pisa

Old gaol (jail for some of us)

The next couple photos are of murals around the city

Example of some housing in Belfast....forests of chimneys (looks better enlarged)

One of many churches in Belfast

Belfast City Hall

Daddy's Home!!!!!

2010-06-25T18:53:00.003+08:00

So glad to have Daddy home from Ireland! Pictures coming soon....

Bringing myself up to date!

2010-06-11T19:37:00.004+08:00

Now that I have finally completed all my trip photos...I've been going round the mulberry bush deciding how to catch up. So it's come down to this...one very large and varied post that will with one hit bring me into the present again! Whew....only a few weeks and I'll have more pictures from Eldon's trip to post.

The week after I arrived home from New Zealand, we were unfortunate enough to have the toilet blocked up for a day and a half....just when the workers were coming to stay! Our toilet and plumbing were apparently an old style so to get to the blockage, they had to knock the toilet out! The toilet was concreted in...no way to do this easy except with a sledgehammer! So out it came. We had a new toilet by 1pm and our guest worker, Linda Calloway, arrived at 6pm. Whew!

Bye-bye old toilet

We had a lovely few days with the workers in Mt Isa before they left again for the special meeting. We travelled down to Winton for our special meeting which involves a bit of driving so we went down and stayed Saturday night. On the way down, Rhys hit his forehead on a sharp window ledge and gave us a good scare. You can't really see how bad it was from the picture....we were just glad that he didn't need stitches or have a concussion. There is still a slight lump under the skin 2 1/2 weeks later!

I love our big back yard...so does Rhys. I love having a bird feeder...so does Rhys. Here is the flock of pigeons who come visiting when the birdseed appears. I was hoping for sulpher crested cockatoos or galahs or something..but pigeons and sparrows are going to have to do for now.

This is Rhys's new favorite hobby...reading Daddy's aviation magazines. Hmmm...not liking the look of this.

Well, Eldon left for Ireland yesterday. It is quite the trip...he stayed the night in Bribane last night, flew to Tokyo today, has the night there tonight, flies to Paris tomorrow and then on to Dublin. And then does it all again a week later except with Frankfurt added in. So...I wish I was going, but I can't say I would really look forward to that trip. Last night I treated myself to a big bowl of ice cream and chocolate sauce for my pity party. I hope he has a great time and brings me home lots of nice pictures...and not just ones of planes, thank you very much!

#11: Short trip to New Zealand

2010-06-08T17:51:00.002+08:00

On our way home to Australia, we stopped in New Zealand to see Mum and Dad Patterson for a few days.

#10: Cushions for Shauna and Kevin's couch

2010-06-08T17:43:00.005+08:00

Shauna and Kevin have a second-hand couch that they are going to recover, so I made them big cushion covers which are reversible. These pictures don't show the true size because we had to stuff them with bed pillows.
I had some of each material left over so we made placemats to match!

#9: Random photos of Rhys

2010-06-08T17:10:00.003+08:00

Rhys sharing snacks with Bella
Going out the doggy door

It's fun to crawl on Mommy!

Bella teaching Rhys how to eat grass

Kisses for Bella

#8: At the beach

2010-05-31T09:11:00.003+08:00

Cold!!!...but what a beautiful day we had at the beach!

Ready for play in his gumboots!

Walking up sand dunes in gumboots isn't easy!

Afterward we went to Moe's for clam chowder to end a perfect day!

#7: Back in Albany - Duck Pond

2010-05-31T07:40:00.003+08:00

From Ohio, I flew back to Oregon to spend the rest of the trip at Mom and Dad's house. Here we are at the duck pond...it took Rhys a little while to get interested, but then he wanted to chase them all over!

#6: Time at Arlen and Jessi's

2010-05-27T05:46:00.005+08:00

After the wedding in Idaho, Shauna, Emilee and I travelled back to Ohio with the girls. It was lovely to have time with Arlen and Jessi at their house before Jessi passed away.

Arlen, Jessi, and Paige walking back from Ryann's softball game

"See my belly?"
Hanging out in the warm sun at the softball game

Family photo on Sunday afternoon

Arlen and Jessi

Paige waving Hi!

When it rains heavily, Lake Ramey forms at the dip in their section...the dogs love it!

The beautiful green hills and blue sky in Ohio

View of their house from the road...the hills behind their house is also theirs...80 acres

View looking up the hill....200 yards straight up!

Looking down the hill at the back of their house

Beautiful and peaceful forest behind their house...great for a walk if you can make it up the hill

I love this sign with Arlen's name on it!

Emilee and I tried to climb one of Arlen's deer stands...only got about 3 rungs up...

We decided that you had to have significantly bigger muscles than what we had to get up there...and being a bit taller wouldn't hurt either!

Jessi passed away about two weeks after I was there. I was so glad to have spent that time with her and Arlen and the girls and just enjoying where they live.

#5: After-wedding Blues

2010-05-25T07:25:00.002+08:00

After a gorgeous wedding day, can you believe it snowed the next day???

I love Paige's expressions!

Rhys and Sydney looking at the dogs
The three munchkins ready for bed

#4: The Wedding

2010-05-21T13:22:00.008+08:00

Gorgeous as can be....

The Red Shoe (she did wear them both eventually...)
Gorgeous hair
And from another angle
Mom, Shauna, Dad

Mom and Shauna

Obviously a serious Father-Daughter chat....

During the hymn...

Rings

Goofing around during pictures

Damsel in distress??

Taking time to stop and smell the roses

Elena and Ryann waiting for Shauna to walk up

They just couldn't resist

The Bride's cake...

The Groom's cake...

The People's cakes...

Cute as buttons...

Hard at work

Finished!

Goodbye! (Another whet-woo shot)

News of Jessi

2010-05-18T10:11:00.002+08:00

This is just a short post to let you all know that my sister-in-law, Jessica Ramey, has passed away. She has been battling a rare and aggressive bile duct cancer for the past year. She died peacefully on Monday, May 17th at 10:30am with Arlen at her side. She was 30 years old. My heart is with Arlen and his three girls today as they accept that she has gone home and now must face a future without her. Funeral arrangements are still being made and I will post again when I know more. My parents and Shauna are on their way out to Ohio and Jessi's parents are already there. I was lucky enough to visit them just two weeks ago when I was in the states for Shauna's wedding, and even though I will not be able to make it back for the funeral, I feel privileged to have spent some time with Jessi before she died.

I know some of you have kept updated with the carepages Arlen and Jessi have written and all your thoughts and prayers have been much appreciated. Will let this be all for now. Sarah

#3: Preparations

2010-05-11T07:27:00.003+08:00

Wake up, sleepyhead!

Decorations for the rehearsal dinner

The "flower room"...putting together bouqets

The girls bouqets
Shauna's bouqet

Rhys looking dashing in his wedding attire

Ryann and Elena...Shauna's attendants

#2: Bridal Shower

2010-05-08T23:30:00.006+08:00

Shauna and her two moms
Organizing

Kevin's Mom, Lisa, and his Idaho Mom, Lori

Yummy fruit platter!

three different quiches Mom made...delicious!

Kitchen helpers Lorraine and Grandma Ramey

After the shower, Shauna made chocolate chip cookies for the wedding with the help of Ryann and Elena

Trip to USA: #1 Pre-wedding-ness

2010-05-07T09:56:00.005+08:00

Well, all my faithful blog-followers...I am alive and well. I am halfway through my trip home for Shauna and Kevin's wedding. We had a great time in Idaho although it was very quick. Rhys and I arrived in Salt Lake City on Thursday the 22nd of April where Mom and Dad picked us up. We stayed the night there and then drove back to Rupert, Idaho the next afternoon. Adjusting to the time difference was a lot harder than it has been in the past and Rhys had a few really hard nights. We did finally get him turned around in time for Sunday, the day before the wedding. Saturday we had a bridal shower for Shauna (pictures in forthcoming post). Sunday was a very special meeting with all the family gathered plus Shauna and Kevin's normal meeting and then Sunday night we had a rehearsal dinner. Monday was the wedding which was beautiful (pictures soon, I promise) and we had a nice lunch at Shauna and Kevin's favorite mexican restaurant. The original plan was for us to spend the next week around Idaho with Shauna before going back to Albany, but when I arrived I found out that Arlen and Jessi weren't coming as Jessi wasn't well enough to make the trip. Shauna and Kevin had jumped on a plane that very morning to go get the girls so that they could still come out. So the new plan was that on Wednesday after the wedding, Shauna, Emilee and I hopped on a plane for Ohio with the girls. Whew! Talk about a busy few days. Rhys went home with Mom and Dad which was a nice break for me. I got to see Arlen and Jessi and the girls for a few days. They have a really nice spot in the country with dogs and chickens and rabbits and even a goat! Now I am back in Albany for just over a week...it has already felt like this trip as blown by. Rhys is doing great, loving playing with Bella, Mom and Dad's dog, and just having time with them also. So enough of blah blah blah...here are some pictures!

Rhys and I totally zonked out at the hotel in Salt Lake City after a very sleepless night

Semi-bright-eyed and bushy-tailed after waking him at noon.

The happy couple
Rhys and I on Sunday

All cuteness!

Justin and Emilee Norcross with Sydney and Tyler

Whet-woo

Mom and Dad and Kevin's parents, Gordon and Lisa

Mom and Dad

Shauna and Kevin with nieces and nephews....I selected the photo where all the kids were acting up...too hilarious!

Elena, Ryann, and Paige

Dad with Paige and Rhys

Sydney and Paige

Hanging out on the floor under everyone's feet

Sydney loved giving hugs! Rhys wasn't so sure...

Matchy-matchy on Sunday

Loving bath time!

Lake Cruising

2010-04-11T14:06:00.002+08:00

This was a lovely evening we spent out on our friends' boat on Lake Moondarra. Rhys was a bit nervous at first and wasn't sure he liked the life jacket, but as you can see, he decided it was the best!

Easter weekend 2010

2010-04-09T14:42:00.008+08:00

Happy Easter everyone! Ok, so it's long past now and I'm just getting around to posting all these photos! We had a very busy weekend and it took a few days to get over it! We spent the weekend doing fun things with our friends. Saturday Eldon looked after Rhys while I did some baking with my friend Danielle for Easter Sunday dinner and then went bowling with some others in the afternoon. Sunday we drove to Cloncurry for the meeting. Then we all met up again back in the Isa for dinner and Tim and Danielle's. We had an easter egg hunt for the kiddies after they decorated their own baskets. Then on Monday we took a 4WD trip to a couple of interesting places around Mt Isa. That was a bigger day than we thought and so Monday night was not a very good night for Rhys. Anyway, we had a great weekend with friends and hope you all did too!

Eva at her cutest!

The kids decorating their easter egg baskets

Eva wasn't really in the mood...

Deon and Deanna

Daniel and Rhys had fun hunting with a little help

Danielle's Treasure cake

The Bandaid Tree...apparently the leaves are used by the Aborigines for bandaids and the fruit is seriously posionous

The old Mary Kathleen uranium mine, now abandoned...it's not a good idea to swim in this water, no matter how pretty...

Rhys "talking" on my phone

Eva was really glad to be out of the car!

Our little group eating lunch at Fountain Springs

Molly and Bruce very frustrated at being tied up...but there were other people there

Emily and Nicola braving the creek despite our teasing about the big hole in the middle

Happy family! Tim and Danielle and Eva

My little explorer

The swimming hole at the bottom of the cliffs

Rhys's new toy

2010-03-26T09:33:00.003+08:00

Ride em' horsey!

2010-03-26T09:09:00.002+08:00

And the horsey's name is Daddy! He loves getting thrown up in the air!

I just love the nappy and shoes...Rhys loves his shoes!

How we survived the heat w/o aircon today...and more

2010-03-22T21:12:00.003+08:00

Today the power went out for a few hours leaving us hot and sticky inside. So we headed outside to play with the hose. I'm not sure why Rhys thought he needed to hold it between his legs...but I just had to get a photo of that!

Half wet, half dry

taking a drink

"Helping" Daddy wash the back porch

having our morning tea on the back lawn...

This afternoon the rain came again, bringing a sauna-like atmosphere with it. I would like it to go now please. I was rather enjoying our nice morning breezes and having cups of tea with Danielle outside. These pesky cyclones....don't they realise it's the end of the season?

Pictures that Rhys took

2010-03-16T15:20:00.002+08:00

Rhys got a hold of our camera yesterday...took about 40 pictures before Eldon stopped him. These two were quite cool I thought, and I'm not biased or anything...

Misc. pics of our past week.....

2010-03-16T14:51:00.003+08:00

Rhys's black eye...just kidding...it was strategically placed dirt

Throwing dirt at the poor baby bird who was wandering around our yard
Just plain cute...

Peekaboo!

Happy Engagement Shauna and Kevin!

2010-03-11T13:28:00.000+08:00

2010-03-02T17:43:00.002+08:00

If I had to choose one thing to be thankful for every day....yesterday would have been anaesthetic spray and today would be good friends!

What an interesting week it's been so far...and we are only up to Tuesday night. I guess I'm starting back at Saturday though...the day Eldon had his King Air line check, finally! He aced it of course...I had no doubt. So today was his first flight as captain with a co-pilot...woohoo! Sunday was lovely although we didn't make it down to Cloncurry like we should have due to the amout of rain we've had. We have rescheduled for next Sunday. Monday brought even more interesting-ness....if you can call it that. I underwent a little procedure called a culposcopy. If you don't know what that is, you probably don't want to know and if you do know what that is, you can sympathize with me. Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent mostly resting....
Then today, well, today was just one of those days. It started at 530am with Rhys crying his distressed cry about who knows what and me rocking him for the better part of an hour. Then on to breakfast time when the rental company people arrived to examine the house. And then the roof insulation people showed up and wanted to cut off the power. In between all of this, I decided to make bread dough even though my oven isn't working. Guess I left my brain at the doctor's office yesterday among other things. So a trip to T & D's was in order to cook my bread and give Rhys a nap since he wasn't able to go to sleep amidst all the crashing, banging, and drilling on the roof....I can't think why not. And to top it off, when I got home I found not only did they not end up cutting off the power, but they didn't install the insulation either because the roof space was too small! So I guess we'll get to endure this again someday soon! Hopefully I will remember not to make bread dough!

So, as I was saying, yesterday I was thankful for anaesthetic spray...and today I'm thankful for good friends! Hope the rest of the week proves to be just as interesting!

Just a side note, Rhys and I were actually able to take a walk to town for my chiro appt as the weather today is just fabulous and cool and overcast! I even had to bring a blanket for Rhys because of the chilly wind! Bring on the winter!

Enjoying a cloudy, humid day....

2010-02-24T15:43:00.004+08:00

We actually played outside today...the weather has been shocking, both with storms and just plain awful humidity. Apparently this is pretty normal until about April. Anyway, today wasn't too hot and it was drizzling a bit when we went outside so we stayed out for a little while playing ball and collecting seed pods. Rhys loves to be outside but only if you are with him so we kicked the ball and then I sat down to take pictures.

Collecting seed pods is serious business

One shoe on, one shoe off...should be a Dr. Suess book....
Feeling very proud of himself for getting to his ball before Mum

And me...enjoying the "cool" weather...

And, as a side note, this is what happens when you turn around for one second in our household these days....sugar everywhere

Rhys and Eva again

2010-02-24T15:28:00.002+08:00

"This is my very special car...see how the wheels turn?"

"If you are very careful, I will let you play with it."
Isn't it cute? I love they way he has his hands folded like he's waiting patiently...

Girls' Night

2010-02-24T14:26:00.004+08:00

This past weekend the boys decided they were going fishing....all night. Well, that's ok...we'll just have a girls' night then. So we all met up at Tim and Danielle's and had a bbq and then the boys went on their way. We heard many complaints about the girls having better food than the boys, but what can you expect. ;) While the boys were out proving they are men by staying up all night with coffee and energy drinks (except a short period when they tried to sleep, unsuccessfully, on some concrete), we girls stayed up til the wee hours watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice (Mr. Darcy, sigh). We had a wonderful time (once the kids were asleep) and have to do it again soon. Although next time we've decided the boys are going to have to look after the kids so that we can start earlier! :) Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it, I didn't get any pictures of us girls in our pjs eating chocolate and cheese and bread and all sorts of yummy things. The boys staggered in about 7am looking like death warmed up and I don't think any of us girls felt much better. I guess we are getting too old for this kind of thing!

Here we are looking eager to start our night...Wendy and Tyron, Lachlan, Tim, Eldon, Rhys, Karla and Danielle

The boys looked much better when they left than when they arrived home in the morning

Eva and Rhys sharing a pillow...little darlings!
Eva giving Karla cuddles

Valentines Day Party!

2010-02-15T07:48:00.005+08:00

Happy Valentines Day to you all! We celebrated with a little fondue party and games. Eldon helped me make heart-shaped cookies without a cookie cutter...what a great guy! We had three fondues; cheese and ham, rocky road, and butterscotch! Whew...they were are so yummy! And I still have leftovers from the sweet ones...don't know what I'm going to do with them yet.

I ate so much sugar last night, I gave myself a headache...oops! So I'm being really good today to make up for it. :) Sorry Mom, forgot to get pictures of everyone here...we were so engrossed in our game!

Rhys...18 months..again

2010-02-07T18:38:00.003+08:00

Well, I think this is the best we are going to get for 18 month photos! He just won't sit still for any length of time, let alone smile when you want him to!

All cheek.....

On the stairs at the house where we go to meeting

Flowers from Hubby

2010-02-07T18:27:00.002+08:00

Isn't he a great one? He brought me home flowers when I was having a bad day!

Kissing already??!!

2010-02-07T17:40:00.002+08:00

Rhys and Eva are great mates...Rhys runs around and Eva laughs at him and then Rhys comes in for a kiss! Very cute together...marriage plans in the making! ;)

Eva is such a sweetie...big, beautiful smiles and giggles

Picture update

2010-01-31T16:20:00.005+08:00

Well, Rhys is 18 months now...I've been trying to get a really nice picture but so far I've only got some average ones. He is really trying to talk now...it's very exciting and cute when he tries to say words. He is a real "helper" right now...you can't do the dishes or a load of washing without him! And he hands me the pegs when I put the washing out. His new trick is being able to climb into his "ha da" (high chair) all by himself.

Giving Eva kisses

Playing with Eva is getting more fun...

Yum! Licking one of the beaters for the first time!

So peaceful....sleeping with doggy!
Lounging in his "ha da"

This Sunday we went to Cloncurry, approximately one hour and thirty minutes away, for the meeting. There is a family with four young boys who live there. Rhys loves playing with them and all their various animals: a dog, a cat, 4 bearded dragons (large lizards), 2 budgies, and 2 adult rats with 7 4-day-old baby rats. They used to have a cow that wandered the porch too but didn't see her today. So, as you can imagine, Rhys loves it there!

Reading a book with two of the boys, Zach and Darcy

Rhys loves doggies!

Darcy sharing his popcicle!

Rhys has discovered what fingers are for....

Playing ball....so cute!

2010-01-18T08:24:00.002+08:00

Thoughts, please......

2010-01-18T08:02:00.003+08:00

So, anyone have any idea what he is saying? We have been trying to figure it out for ages! He answers that when you ask him anything about food....

Your thoughts, please!

Waiting for Daddy to come home

2010-01-18T07:57:00.002+08:00

This is Rhys's favorite place to wait for Daddy to come home!

Making bread...

2010-01-18T07:37:00.002+08:00

Yum! Today we discovered bread dough....I had to physically remove him before he ate the whole lot!

Counting down the days....

2010-01-15T07:49:00.004+08:00

Well, that could pertain to a lot of things right now...
-counting down the days until this jolly eye tooth shows itself
-counting down the days until Eldon gets his pay raise
-counting down the days until our trip to Ireland/USA
-" " until we have our own house and our own things
-" " until we live nearer to family
-" " until we can have more kids!
-" " until Eldon's 30th
and so on...I suppose I could think of lots of more things we are waiting for in the future. However, all this waiting and wishing and hoping makes it hard to live in the present! I am trying to enjoy my days more just doing day to day things with Rhys and TRYING not to think so much about all the things in the future.

Ok, so there's the heavy stuff for today. Rhys cracked us up this morning with his animal noises. He spent a few hours yesterday evening with one of our friends who has a cat. Rhys came home meowing after apparently following the cat around most of the time he was there. Thankfully the cat was pretty docile and even let Rhys touch him a few times. Anyway, he can meow now! He has mastered the dog (panting, not barking for some reason), the monkey, the donkey, the snake, the rabbit, the lizard, the gorilla, the bird (more on that later), the horse, the pig and the duck...I think that's about all. The one animal we can't get him to even try is the cow, which seems odd to me. Anyway, we might have to find someone who owns cows......
So the bird...well, I was telling a friend just recently that Rhys is definitely "aussie" in some ways....he thinks birds say "ark, ark" instead of chirp or cheep or tweet or any of those things. He is getting better at telling us he is all done without throwing his food off the tray...woohoo! He has mastered please in sign language (along with more, cracker, all done, eat) which is nice but I've been lazy and haven't taught him anything new. He does say Ta (thank you for those of you in the states) but he says it whether you give him something or he gives it to you. :)Very cute. I am trying, a bit unsuccessfully, to get him to use a spoon....might have that mastered by the time we go to Ireland. We have half-heartedly started toilet training...but it might be time to ramp it up as he's pooed in the shower about 4 times in the last two weeks. Luckily he doesn't think it's something to play with...he usually sits on the opposite side of the shower while I clean it all up! Ok, hope that didn't spoil your dinner.

Eldon is working really hard right now with his King Air training and studying for Flight Planning. I am really looking forward to him being finished with the studying and I know he is too. It isn't easy trying to study with a crazy 18 month old running riot. Rhys and I try to get out of the house while he's studying, so he runs riot at someone else's house while I collapse on their couch and accept a cup of tea laced with Valium. One fortunate thing is that Rhys doesn't have trouble going down for his naps and bedtime. Whew!

Well, sorry for the lack of photos...haven't really done anything really significant lately. Hope everyone is having a good start to the year!

Christmas Day

2009-12-29T11:31:00.006+08:00

Well, we were so lucky this year with the weather! Forecast called for rain and thunderstorms...not very exciting! But we ended up with nice breezy cool (if you call 32 cool) weather! It was a great day for just hanging out, eating, and relaxing in the pool..which is exactly what we did! We spent the day at our friends' place (Tim and Danielle). Tim's brother, Pete, was also there. They have a baby girl, Eva, who is just getting big enough for Rhys to take notice! On the menu was: Turkey and stuffing, ham, butternut squash bake, 3 kinds of cold salads, broccoli and cauli bake, cranberry (of course)...hmmm can't remember if I'm missing anything. Anyway, it was delicious! We had 4 different desserts which ended up as our dinner as we were too full to eat them after lunch!

Had to get a picture with the stocking!

Rhys managed to open his first present...a book from Arlen and Jessi...and then he promptly sat down to read it and forgot about all his other presents!

Eldon reading "The Gruffalo" to Rhys

Eva likes the music from the frog on this bouncer so Rhys is helping her pull the cord

Sitting down to our feast! (Notice Eva in the bumbo...getting very interested in food!)

Rhys in the pool...he wasn't very happy to begin with

One of Tim and Danielle's dogs relaxing on an inner tube

Dinner! Pavlova, apple pie, christmas tree cupcakes, and chocolate marshmellow balls (not pictured)

Christmas baking....

2009-12-24T20:27:00.006+08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We are heading to some friends' house tomorrow for the day....a day of eating and relaxing in the pool, playing games and then more eating probably! Hope everyone has a really good day! Here are pics of my baking to get you in the mood!!!

Orange Cinnamon Bread

Apple Butterscotch Pie

Christmas Tree Cupcakes

Stocking complete!

2009-12-22T06:15:00.004+08:00

I have finished the stocking for Rhys! It turned out pretty well considering I didn't really know what I was doing!
These are the fabrics I found...didn't want traditional christmas-y fabrics so we went with blues and dogs...Rhys loves dogs!

These are the two sides cut out...the back is navy with gold pin stripe and the front is going to be quilted...

All cut out and quilted...just putting the stars and cuff on...
Here's the back all done...Finished!

Close up of the stars and cuff

All ready for Christmas!

Convention 2009

2009-12-13T14:45:00.005+08:00

We cheated this year and flew to convention! The company Eldon works for has a flight over to Townsville twice a week and it worked out nicely for us to catch that. We rented a car from Townsville and drove down to Mackay (about 4 hours). The convention is just south of there in a place called Chelona. We rented a cabin so that we could have air-conditioning (slackers, I know) and we were so glad of it! The weather was hot and sticky, much more humid than Mt Isa at the moment. Convention was wonderful, of course, and we had the added bonus of an Oregon worker, Doyle Smith. It was nice to catch up with him on Sunday afternoon before we left again for Townsville.
Rhys looking rather sleepy as we wait for our plane.

Mommy's kisses are the best!
Beechcraft 1900D which we flew on...19 seats. We left Mt Isa at 12noonish and unfortunately that is getting into the hottest time of the day. The aircraft is pressurized...but it is small enough that you feel every bump. The route goes from Mt Isa and stops 3 times along the way in rural areas...so we got the bumps and jumps x 3! Poor Mom!

The awesome car we rented....they gave us a free upgrade to an XR6 and I have to say, it was hard coming home to our bomb!
Our cabin

Mom and Rhys, hanging out in the back!

Doyle Smith with Rhys

After our Sunday afternoon meal...

So sleepy..on our way home...we had a very long night and a very early morning!
Deep in the reading material...apparently there was a dog on that page...

My Little Laundry Helper

2009-12-10T12:13:00.002+08:00

Quiet Book project

2009-12-10T06:44:00.007+08:00

Mom brought over a half completed quiet book for us to finish for Rhys at convention. As per usual, we didn't start it until two days before convention, so here we are, up late at night trying to get it done in time!!Hmmm, what should go on this page?
Guess it'll be the cover!

The completed book!!!

Photos of our friends

2009-12-01T05:55:00.004+08:00

This is the lovely family from Zimbabwe in our meeting

The Hawkins family, our elders and their daughter, son and daughter in-law
Guess who?

Ok...this is off the subject...this is a yummy chocolate cake I made...it has white chocolate cream cheese frosting with fresh strawberries! Yum!Those are just a few of the friends in our meeting...haven't got a meeting picture yet.

Weekend away in the middle of the week!

2009-11-30T09:42:00.007+08:00

Eldon and I were very fortunate to be able to slip away for a couple days last week while Mom looked after Rhys at home! The company Eldon works for had a plane going to Cairns for maintenance so we (meaning Eldon did all the flying and I tried not to fall asleep!) flew it over and then stayed on for a couple of days. Little did we know that our little holiday was going to be extended...Just as we were holding to get on the runway on our way home, Eldon's boss called and asked us to change our flights plans and go direct to Townsville instead of back to Mount Isa. So we flew to Townsville and, after a few confusing hours, I went to a hotel and Eldon went on to fly another 5 1/2 hours on a run for the company. So we had an unscheduled night in Townsville and flew back the next morning. I hadn't been flying with Eldon for some time so it was pretty fun to do it again. It was scorching hot on the ground inside the plane while we were doing checks and getting clearances etc...now I know what Eldon goes through every single day at work! I had sweat dripping off me and pooling behind my sunnies...yuck! The headphones make it so much hotter! Once we got in the air, the air vents kept us at a reasonable temperature. It was nice and bumpy on the way home but not enough to make me sick, thank goodness! We were so glad to get home and see Rhys and Mom...this was the first time I'd ever been away from him overnight!!! Oh man did I miss him! Anyway, he had a great time with Nana.

This is the plane we flew over, Cessna 402

My hubby loves posing, can't you tell?

Me in front of the marina just before we got soaked in a rain shower

We sheltered from the storm in a gelato store...hmmm bad idea?

Eldon with our Thai meal, "Elephant steampot" (no, we did not eat elephant)

Looking back at the coastline as we flew into Cairns

This is the cloud reflection on the ocean...very cool

Flying back into Mt Isa...you can see one of the smelter stacks right in front, the mines are right behind it

First muscial instrument...thanks, Darryn

2009-11-19T06:54:00.002+08:00

Rhys in a box

2009-11-18T08:53:00.002+08:00

Rhys found this box for our fan and thought it would be fun to crawl inside...so (with a little help from Daddy), he did! Does this look like anyone else you know, Mum and Dad P???

Mom is here!

2009-11-14T19:27:00.002+08:00

Mom arrived on Oct. 28th for a visit to our home in Mt Isa! She is going to be here for 6 weeks all together including convention AND her 50th birthday!! Woohoo! Rhys is loving having another person to cuddle and play with.

Check out our great shoes!

Playtime before Wed. night meeting
Rhys with his hair all messed up with sunscreen!

More pictures to come.....

A Saturday for Gardening

2009-11-14T17:03:00.006+08:00

Eldon's green thumb is back in full force! For those of you who knew us in Papakura, you'll remember the awesome garden we had back then. Well....we aren't going so crazy here as it would take a lot of soil and a rotary hoe to make a difference to the dirt. Eldon has planted everything in pots; carrots, capsicum, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cucumber, pumpkin, watermelon, climbing beans, dwarf beans...hmmm what else? It's really fun to watch it grow...the beans have grown so fast! Hopefully if all is well, we'll have a nice little harvest in a few months.

Rhys "helping" put dirt in the pot...he ended up with cow manure and soil all over him...what fun!

Our pet lizard which hangs out by the compost
Finished product!

Instalment #7: Wedding

2009-11-08T16:38:00.007+08:00

The happy couple, signing their lives away!

Danny Ellis, Groomsman and me

Mike's parents and grandparents

The view from Mudbrick Vineyard where the wedding was held on Waiheke Island

The two Bruces....must have been a good shot!

Photos by the cellar

Rhys and I waiting for the pictures to be over

The two bouquets
The beautiful vases were on each tableThis is the restaurant at the vineyard where we had the wedding breakfast
Eldon and I

Darryn and Denise looking rather snazzy

Saying goodnight!!

Instalment #6: The morning of the wedding

2009-11-06T11:41:00.004+08:00

We woke up on Friday morning to a glorious day! What a surprise! Our houses faced Oneroa Beach and the view was amazing! The wedding wasn't until the evening, so we were able to relax and have a really enjoyable morning.

The view from our balcony

Mum, Dad and Eldon enjoying the beautiful sunshine in their pajamas!

Granddad reading Monkey Puzzle to Rhys

I made a breakfast of scrambled eggs and bacon

We went to get our hair done about 1pm

Halfway there...looking good

All done...Roz had a beautiful flower decoration in her hair

Me...looking somewhat like Cousin It as the hairdresser ratted my whole head of hair!!

Almost done...an amazing french roll

Instalment #5: Thursday night BBQ

2009-11-06T09:18:00.004+08:00

The two families, Pattersons and Ellises got together on Thursday night and had an awesome barbeque. We rented houses on Waiheke and it came equiped with a barbeque. The weather was still pretty awful but the boys managed to cook everything just fine.

Bobby Ellis and Darryn cranking up the barbeque

Roz was not impressed with Mike's shirt!!

Darryn and Denise made us yummy chai tea lattes

It was fairly cold that night....

Bobby and Jessica Ellis...Mike's brother and wife

Danny Ellis...another brother
you know who
night-night kisses

Instalment #4: Ferry to Waiheke

2009-11-06T07:14:00.005+08:00

Dad, Mum, Darryn, Denise, Eldon and I and Rhys took the car ferry to Waiheke on Thursday, the day before the wedding. It was rotten weather...windy and raining and awful...we didn't hold out much hope for a sunny wedding day.

Rhys loved climbing up and down the stairs on the ferry

Going round and round on the swivel chairs

"Are we there yet?"

You can see the wonderful weather we were having as we pulled into Waiheke

Instalment #3: Bridal Shower

2009-11-05T12:15:00.003+08:00

The Bride-to-be on her throneThe "beautiful" dress Denise and I bought for her

Lovely flower arrangement by Denise and the purple cake (made with lots of food coloring!)

We had a tea party style shower with purple and silver for colors
My helper, Denise and her lovely apron

The boys showed up at the end and we just couldn't keep them apart...

Instalment #2: Visiting Rohan and Michelle and littlies

2009-11-05T08:39:00.005+08:00

I had a really nice day visiting Rohan and Michelle and their little family (although not so little anymore!). Unfortunately, I got away without any photos of them!!! I did get some nice pics of Rhys around their property...it was such a beautiful day that day!

"Look, Mom, I found this really cool mower and it has wheels!"

Our budding mechanic...